The Alien Prince’s Omega by Lorelei M. Hart
Kagin
Cookingthe dinner would have been faster if Hanson had let me help. Putting the meat in my palm would have seared it instantly, but humans did not have that ability. And this was his home, his kitchen, so I said nothing. Besides, I enjoyed watching him except when he hit the beef, which was pretending to be chicken, with a hammer. I pushed the chair back and stood up.
“Something wrong?”
“Second Father used to punish me and my brother, but never with a weapon. That meat must have been very bad.”
He opened his mouth as if to reply, but instead poked out his tongue and licked his lips. I did the same. Droplets of water appeared above his mouth, and his eyes glazed over as if he was in a trance. I leaned forward, ready to capture them with my tongue, but he blinked and his body trembled.
Hanson went to the ice box.
“Wine.” He held up a bottle.
I peered at the label. “Is it?”
“I mean would you like a glass?”
I nodded, unsure what I would do with it. But when he poured the liquid into two glasses, he offered one to me and I drank it all. But judging by his expression, that was not what he had expected. “So good.” I wiped a droplet from my mouth, and Hanson sighed and nibbled his bottom lip.
But as my prospective mate prepared the meat, green vegetables, and potatoes along with a brown runny liquid, I changed my mind. Wine was the best thing I had ever tasted. The room appeared hazy, and I squinted at Hanson as he put the food on the plates. With a hand on my belly, I opened my mouth to speak, but a high-pitched giggle bubbled out between my lips.
He shot a glance in my direction. “Everything okay?”
More uncontrollable laughter darted out, and I slapped a hand over my mouth. “I am so happy to be here, my rupling,” I explained in between plucking my bottom lip with a finger and going, “Beebweebbeeb.”
He raised a brow. “Sounds like we should get dinner into you.”
I stabbed the food, held it in the air, and snorted with laughter, my shoulders shaking, before shoveling it in my mouth. Hanson mumbled something about “meds” but I was concentrating on him placing a small piece of meat between his lips as he chewed it slowly.
I chuckled, the happiness inside simmering as I mimicked his nibbling. He muttered, “No more wine for you,” but I was busy staring at his huge brown eyes.
After the meal, he led me to the vehicle, his hand clamped on my arm because I could not walk in a straight line. He strapped me into the seat and took me to a bed and breakfast. I guessed they had beds and served the meal Earthlings called breakfast. My head was still fuzzy. There were so many missing pieces of information from the palace library regarding Earth. I would have to update it when we returned home.
“This is a nice place. It’s close to the beach. The owner is a friend.”
“Wine makes everything different.” I grinned at him, not wanting to leave his side.
“Yes. It was nice meeting you, Kagin.” I put out my hand and trailed my fingers over his.
“Tomorrow,” I told him, hoping I could reveal who I was and we could go home. I pointed upward, but Thulnara’s galaxy was not even a speck in the sky.
“Goodbye.” His voice quivered as he got in the vehicle and drove away, and I staggered inside.
A man behind the counter said something, and I clasped his hand. He was not my rupling and we could not understand each other unless I activated the translator in my palm.
“Nice to meet you.” He then asked me to fill in a form, but my head was still spinning, so I pulled out a handful of money and stuffed it in his hand.
Again he opened and closed his mouth and words came out. I reached for his hand again and he tried to shake me off. “Sorry, buddy. I need a credit card. And what’s with the hand-holding?” He tried to push me away. “Also, you need to see a doctor. You’re kinda blue.”
As I didn’t have what he needed, I bowed and walked out. Hanson was right. The bed and breakfast was close to the water, and I wandered onto the sand and lay down. The warmth seeped into my back as I studied the stars, none of which were familiar.
Hanson had fed me a typical Earthling dinner. I needed to respond, but I wasn’t returning to Thulnara to collect my favorite food. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, one lonely sun was rising and warming the sand beneath me, which had grown cold.
On either side of me, long grass swayed in the breeze, and it reminded me of the ones at home, though these were all the same color. I was used to different colored grasses representing all the food groups. It would have to do, and I pulled out two clumps and headed to Hanson’s by following his tantalizing scent, which still filled the air.
He came to the door. “Kagin. I was worried about you. Lennox called me saying you’d left.”
“For you,” and I shoved the grass at him.
“How nice.” I was not an expert on Earthlings, but his voice and face did not match the word ‘nice.’
“Try it.” I grabbed the grass and tapped his lips with it, but he leaned away and made a strange sound.
“Like this.” I chomped on a mouthful and immediately spat it out. “Ewww.”
Hanson put his hands on his hips. “Are you still hungover, or is this some weird shifter crap you’re pulling?”
“Shifter?”
“Yeah. Don’t look at me like that with those big innocent eyes. I know about shifters.”
“I can assure you,” I said, “I am not a shifter.”